Just This Once

by Mira Lyn Kelly

  “One of these days, I’m going to get you to try a scallop,” he stated, folding his napkin next to his plate. Sean had relaxed about halfway to the restaurant when she’d caught him eyeing her suspiciously and told him to knock it off. She had rules. A strategy. Any time they were out of her apartment—which was her end goal, after all—Sean didn’t need to worry about the flirt. He was safe.

  From that moment on, they’d just been them. Easy and relaxed. Sean giving her crap about her psychological allergy to all things fishy and generally just catching up on each other’s days. Which, she had to admit, she kind of needed.

  Crossing her arms over her too-full belly, she eyed the last piece of crusty bread in the basket and wondered just how bad it would be if she finished it.

  “Jesus, Moll. I’m going to be sick if you eat anything more.” Then claiming it was for her own good, Sean flagged a passing waitress. “Any chance we could get the check and the rest of this bread and another loaf wrapped up to go?”

  A flutter kicked up in Molly’s heart, because that was the kind of sweet Sean was all about. “Thank you,” she murmured, checking her phone to keep him from seeing anything in her eyes he shouldn’t. She was having trouble regulating what she was putting out there, only hitting her mark about half the time, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why.

  Sean had looked ready to bolt when they’d been in the kitchen, and that had been an accident. He’d been so close, stretching up over her so his chest was right there and she could smell his cologne. It affected her, and he’d noticed. And freaked. But then when she’d tossed out that line about finding something to eat at home, offering up what she’d thought was a pretty good go at sexy? Nada.

  Maybe she’d been too subtle, and he just hadn’t noticed.

  Outside the restaurant, Sean slung his arm around Molly’s shoulders as they started down the sidewalk.

  She smiled, that contented feeling filling her chest. Because this was the good stuff.

  “You working Belfast this weekend?”

  “Yeah, but I’ve got days, so I’ll be out by seven.” She pulled up her phone and scrolled through her texts until she found what she was looking for. “Suzanna’s having that party Friday night, and Gib’s band is playing Saturday. What are you thinking?”

  Sean wagged his head back and forth in indecision. “I like hearing Gib, but the last two times we saw him, it got awkward after the show.”

  Letting out a short laugh, Molly shook her head. “You slept with his sister, Sean. What did you think…that she’d stop going to his shows?”

  Sean was about to launch into some defense when she heard her name, and she drew up short, a sinking feeling settling in her belly. It might only have been a few days, but she’d gotten used to not having to brace for the interactions with Gary.

  “Shit,” Sean muttered from beside her.

  Yeah, that was right.

  “Be nice,” she hissed as Gary jogged a few steps to greet her.

  “Hey, Molly, long time,” Gary joked. He had one of those creepy smiles that was probably totally genuine but still managed to make everyone a little uncomfortable.

  “Yeah, sorry about the way everything worked out, Gary. I didn’t…” She cut off uneasily. If she said kicking him out wasn’t something she supported, there was a good chance he’d be back. And man, she didn’t want him back. Still, she had to ask, “How’s it going?”

  “Good,” he said, leaning into his answer with an eager nod. “I’m moving into my new place on Monday. The job is going great too.”

  Molly’s heart lifted, and she relaxed a little. “Really? That’s fantastic, Gary. See, it’s all turning around.”

  Gary shook his head, a woe-is-me look threatening as he sighed. Oh no.

  “Mostly. It’s just now there’s this—”

  Sean’s sharp whistle cut through the air just as her old roommate was about to launch into some story that would leave Molly feeling battered and bruised.

  Sean was already firming his hold around her shoulders and propelling them toward the curb where a cab had pulled up. “Glad to hear it’s all working out for you, Gary. A positive attitude can make all the difference.”

  The ride was quick, and Molly was still thinking about Gary when they climbed out of the cab at her building. She turned to Sean with a sigh. “Okay, I admit it. I’m grateful you handled the situation. Really grateful, especially with all the stuff you did to make sure he had a soft place to land and the means to go forward and…that was big, Sean. Thank you.”

  She was met with that half-cocked grin she’d fallen so hard for that first year.

  “So you’re okay with me staying now?” he asked, all confidence. All Sean.

  Patting the center of his chest, she gave him a pitying look. “No. You still need to move out.”

  She only made it halfway up the stairs before he was cutting in front of her, that same smacked look on his face. “Whoa, Molly. What gives?”

  She wouldn’t expect him to totally get it. Using the back of her hand to nudge him aside, she started up again. “You didn’t respect my boundaries, moving in the way you did. I’m firm on this, Sean.”

  At her door, she let herself into the apartment and then, before Sean could follow her in, turned in the doorway so he had to stop on the other side or mow her over. Arms outstretched so she was holding the frame with each hand, she gave him a level look.

  “Your parents’ place is open. You sure you want to cross this line again?” She hoped the answer was no, because she didn’t know what her next move was going to be…but whatever it was, it was going to have to be good.

  Those big shoulders sagged with his head. “Are we really going there again, Moll? Even after I bought you dinner and saved you with a quick escape from Gary?”

  She checked her nails. Short and chipped to the point where there was more naked nail showing than deep-maroon polish. And she had a hangnail. “Up to you, Wyse. Are we?”

  He sighed, and for a fraction of a breath, she thought he might relent and realized she was going to be a little disappointed to see him go. But then, his hands were on her hips, and she wasn’t in the doorway anymore, having been bodily shifted out of the way. Sean scowled at her and walked into the apartment. Stalking into his room, he didn’t bother to turn around as he muttered, “Fine, Moll. Whatever you’ve got. Bring it.”

  Chapter 6

  Bring it. Sure, big talk from the tough guy.

  Sean changed into jeans and a T-shirt and then stood in the center of his room, staring at the door and wondering what kind of beast he was going to encounter on the other side. Really, he just wanted to unwind and watch some TV with Molly. Listen to her laugh while they picked apart the ridiculous plotlines of some show she couldn’t get enough of. He wanted Molly the way she was supposed to be with him. Kicking his hip with her foot when she wanted his popcorn or the remote. Just being—hell, just being his Molly. The one he didn’t have to worry about what he said with and could relax with like no one else. Fuck.

  Maybe he’d luck out, and she’d get distracted by the show and forget about coming on to him for a few hours. Maybe she wouldn’t manage that look again—the one that was getting to him in all the wrong ways and had him a hairsbreadth from bringing it along with him to the shower and giving in to the kind of base need he’d successfully kept Molly separate from for the past twelve years.

  Yeah, maybe.

  Molly was watching some documentary on the fittest people in the world when he made it to the couch. Setting his laptop on the floor beside him, he leveled her with a glare before sitting.

  It didn’t work, because the minute she blinked up at him, that look was back. If he hadn’t already been standing, it would have had him leaping off the couch. Her big blues skimmed over his face, down his neck, and slowly over his stomach until—

 
“Christ, Molly!” he croaked, dropping his hands in front of his fly.

  She sighed and sat back into her corner of the couch, letting her eyes linger just long enough to make her point—before she peered up at him with an appreciative smile.

  “Have I ever mentioned how very nicely you fill out those jeans?” She swallowed, as if her mouth had gone dry or something, and then bit her lip. Only this time, it didn’t look like she was trying to gnaw it off or bite through it or anything. It just looked—fuck, it looked like he really didn’t want to know what she was thinking right then.

  She was getting better at this. Which was a problem, because he did not want to be getting ideas about Molly’s mouth.

  “Knock it off, Moll. I just want to watch some TV in peace.” There was another chair he could sit in, but this side of the couch was always his. He didn’t want to give it up just because Molly was being a belligerent brat.

  “Hmm. Pretty sure the TV at your parents’ place is free.”

  No way. And to emphasize his point, he sat down, holding her stare as he did.

  “Have it your way,” she said with a sigh. “We’ll just have to get comfortable here.”

  His head whipped around at that, because he could take the fake porn-star voice. The cheesy come-on lines were even kind of adorable. But every now and then, she gave him a taste of something that looked and sounded just a little too real and put a lot of bad ideas in his head.

  He was handling it for now. But if she got any better, if she took things any further?

  “That T-shirt is one of my favorites on you,” she mentioned casually, her eyes back on the show. “The fabric’s thin, and the way it hugs and hangs across your chest and stomach doesn’t leave a whole lot to the imagination. Really nice.”

  Sean’s brows pulled together, and he crossed his arms over his chest. Great. Not only was he thinking about his best friend in a way he didn’t want to, but now he was thinking about his favorite shirt in a way he didn’t want to either. It was super thin, but still hanging in there without any holes. And the fabric across his chest and stomach was damn soft.

  A flash of Molly’s hands sliding over it fired through his mind.

  Enough, Wyse. She doesn’t belong there.

  He squinted his eyes shut, willing himself to sac up, because he was making this whole damn thing way too easy on Molly. And if he didn’t get his shit together quickly, she was going to have him moved out before Max and Sarah even got home from the honeymoon on Monday.

  No way.

  Molly shifted beside him, and suddenly things got a whole lot worse, way too fast.

  His eyes shot open as the cushion dipped beside him and Molly’s hand settled on his shoulder.

  “Excuse me, Sean. I just need to grab the remote,” she said, throwing her knee over his hips so she was straddling him. He gulped. Trying hard not to stare at the hot-pink bra showing through her tank, getting closer and closer to his face as she reached for the remote on the end table beside him.

  “Moll, don’t,” he warned through gritted teeth.

  Instead of springing off him and retreating to her side of the couch the way he wanted, she cocked her head and looked down at him. “Something wrong, Sean?”

  Her knees were on both sides of his hips, and his hands were balled against the cushion so they didn’t fist in the shorts covering her ass. Yeah, something was wrong. And it got even more so when she rested both her hands on his shoulders and sat back on his thighs. Because another inch and she’d be right there.

  His molars ground together. He couldn’t think about it. About how close she was. About how it would feel to have her pressed against him like that.

  Except he was totally thinking about it, and worse, he was thinking about it while he stared into those bright blue eyes.

  And now there was less than an inch between him and Molly figuring out exactly what kind of victory she’d scored with this little stunt. If she knew, she’d do it again. She’d push further. And he’d let her, because as much as he didn’t want to, he liked this.

  “You’re playing with fire, Molly. Enough.”

  “Am I?” she asked, watching him like she wanted the one thing he knew better than to give her.

  It wasn’t real. He knew it.

  And even if it was, neither of them would ever act on it. Because Molly wasn’t disposable. She wasn’t someone he could take the edge off with and then walk away from like he did with all the other women. Not even if she kept looking at him the way she was right then.

  Her lips parted, and the pink tip of her tongue peeked out to wet her bottom lip.

  This was bad.

  He could move her if he needed to. But then he’d have his hands on her hips, and what if he touched her thighs? What if he finally found out how it felt to have his fingers splayed wide across them, to feel how strong they were when they flexed? What would happen if his hands slid higher—

  Her shriek cut through the fantasy that was rapidly spinning out of control.

  “Sean!” she gasped, rising fast from where she’d been sitting back on his thighs, her hands clutching at his shoulders as she shifted in a panic from one knee to the other, which wasn’t helping the situation in the slightest, because all that shifting around while she was practically mashing her chest into his face was sending the wrong signals to a part of him that wasn’t very rational to begin with.

  “Molly, stop!” he barked, capturing her hips with his hands and jerking his head back from a place that had been just the perfect amount of soft and sweet—and fuck, how was he going to keep that shit from following him into the shower?

  Molly stopped her squirming and, safely out of his erection’s way, glowered down at him, her face a very satisfying shade of beet. “You… That… I… It…” She sucked in a breath and scrunched her eyes closed, apparently giving up on the completely unnecessary recap.

  About time the tables turned here. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about the fact that his thumbs had brushed those sexy hip bones of hers or that the way he was holding her, half suspended above him, was feeding the part of him that liked a little control.

  Because this was Molly.

  And clearly she’d gotten more than she bargained for.

  “Yeah, you straddled my lap, Moll. I’m a guy. What the fuck did you think was going to happen?”

  When she opened her eyes again, all that saucy confidence was gone, and a part of him missed it. But the greater part of him recognized the woman looking down at him as the best friend he wasn’t seeing enough of lately. The one who, despite all her hard edges and bluster, had a vulnerable side she didn’t trust to many people.

  “Yeah, but…you’re you. And I didn’t think…” Her eyes cut away, and she blushed even harder. Christ, she was so uncomfortable, it was killing him. Even if she’d brought it on herself, he couldn’t watch her squirm. So he said the only thing he could think to make it better.

  “Don’t freak out. It’s a physiological thing. Nothing else. You put any woman across my lap like that, and the man downstairs is going to get involved. It’s not about you.”

  And shit, not only was that a lie, because it most definitely had been about her, but he also realized what a world-class dick thing it was to say. He opened his mouth to apologize and say he didn’t even know what—but she was nodding like that flimsy-ass explanation had actually made her feel better.

  “Okay, so we’ll just forget about it then. Pretend it didn’t happen.”

  He sure as hell was going to try, but he wasn’t holding his breath. Because for the first time in a dozen years, he knew exactly what Molly felt like above him. How soft and sweet those modest curves were against his cheek. How easily he could hold her. Guide her—yeah, forgetting about it wasn’t happening any time soon. But pretending? Sean was a master at maintaining a facade.

  Only…
“This shit stops now, Molly. Keep it up, and you’re going to start something we can’t just forget about and pretend didn’t happen. Is that what you want?”

  Pinching her lips between her teeth, she shook her head.

  “Me either,” he said, finally releasing his hold on her hips and helping her up. Probably something he should have done immediately. Definitely. “You mean too much to me.”

  “Same here, Sean.”

  There was something about the way she said it that got him deep in the chest. Made him want to pull her back in to him and hold her for just a minute. But it wasn’t the right time to get his hug on, so instead, he grabbed the remote she’d been going for in the first place and turned up the volume. “So CrossFit, huh? Those guys are huge.”

  Molly nodded. Then she shook her head and pushed off the couch, her shoulders low. “You know what? I think I’m going to hole up in my room for a while. See about getting some more work done since we’re going out tomorrow night.”

  He sat up. “Molly, don’t—”

  But her hand was already up, waving him off. “I’m good. We’re good. But…” Again, she pinched her lips together and looked away, which was bothering him more every time she did it. “Yeah, you just hang, and I’ll catch you tomorrow night.”

  “You sure?”

  She nodded.

  Molly going to hide out in her room was the last thing he wanted, but maybe a little space wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

  * * *

  Working on the brewery website turned out to be a total fail when it came to distracting Molly from the train wreck her plan to flirt Sean out of her spare bedroom had ended up being. She’d wanted to make him uncomfortable. Well, she’d done it all right. But climbing over him like a sex kitten in training hadn’t panned out the way she’d expected.